Remember to Breathe

Let’s start with an exercise. Take your golf stance and close your eyes. For a few seconds, think of a situation that you’re afraid of or that causes you anxiety when you anticipate dealing with it. Now check on your breathing—is it deep and relaxed? Chances are it isn’t. Most people respond that they were barely breathing at all. If there was any breathing, it was constricted and very shallow. Now, take your stance again, close your eyes, and take a few slow, even breaths. Imagine that the breath goes deeper into your body with each inhalation, filling it as much as possible. Now check on your body and mind. Most people respond that their bodies become more relaxed and their minds feel more at ease. The point is that tension and deep breathing are incompatible. If you’re tense, you won’t be breathing deeply; if you breathe deeply, tension dissolves.

©2002 Dr. Joseph Parent (P)2016 Audible, Inc.